A new Irish bar is coming to East Blvd., but it’s not gonna be a dreary ‘old man pub’
Milestone Irish Pub and Kitchen is set to open early this summer on East Boulevard in Dilworth, in the spot that used to be East Boulevard Bar & Grill.
Jackie McHugh, who worked in a number of bars over 20 years in New York City, hopes to open the Irish pub at 1315 East Blvd. by “the end of May or early June.”
McHugh, 39, is originally from County Donegal, Ireland, and just moved to Charlotte about two months ago because he didn’t want to raise his 11-month-old son in New York. His sister-in-law recently moved to Charlotte, and McHugh and his family decided to follow.
New York’s “not the place to bring up a child,” he said. “This city has a lot to offer.”
And McHugh’s well aware that there’s already a Milestone Club in Charlotte. But he wanted to name the bar after his son, Miles, rather than use his last name and make it sound like a dreary Irish “old man pub.” The focus at Milestone will still be “comfort” and conversation, McHugh said, just like the pubs he remembers in Ireland.
“You’re going to know you’re in an Irish pub,” McHugh said. “The thing to me about pubs is you should be able to come, sit down and have a chat. … There’s not going to be fancy lights, not a million TVs, the music’s not going to be blaring. …
“It’s a very simple operation. … I don’t like to complicate things.”
That simplicity carries over to the food and drink menu. The kitchen will serve up dishes with an Irish flavor, but McHugh wants to lighten up some of the heavy, hearty Irish comfort food dishes.
“Our weather’s too nice down here for that,” he said.
The menu is still being developed, but expect an all-day Irish breakfast, maybe some oysters and fresh bread.
Milestone’s bar will serve hand-crafted cocktails and simple pints, with plans to do whiskey of the month specials and whiskey flights.
McHugh said he picked the Dilworth location because the neighborhood has a good mix of people, young and old.
“It has that really good, nice neighborhood feel,” he said. “All it was missing was a good neighborhood Irish pub.”
But don’t expect there to be any karaoke — McHugh hates it. “I’ll never do karaoke as long as I live,” he said. And probably not pub trivia, either.
One thing you will find in Milestone, though, is an Irish coffee made “properly,” McHugh said, “because God I have seen that drink messed up more than once.”
Milestone Irish Pub and Kitchen: 1315 East Blvd., Suite 130. It will be open 11 a.m.-2 a.m. daily.
Photos: Courtesy of Milestone Irish Kitchen and Pub.
This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 12:17 AM with the headline "A new Irish bar is coming to East Blvd., but it’s not gonna be a dreary ‘old man pub’."